Did 'Bridgerton’ Author Just Reveal the Lead Couple of Season 5?

Bridgerton fans think author Julia Quinn just confirmed which couple will be the focus of season 5.

Quinn took to Instagram on Monday, September 1, to share throwback photos of her and Claudia Jessie, who plays Eloise Bridgerton, from season 1.

“Looking back … and looking ahead,” she captioned the post. “Photos from 2019, collage and transcript from @_inmylibrary_ (thank you!) #Bridgerton #philoise #tosirphillipwithlove.”

Based on Quinn’s book series, Bridgerton centers around members of a wealthy family as they search for love in 19th century London. Season 1 followed Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon’s (Regé-Jean Page) romance, who were the central couple in the first book, The Duke and I.

Season 2, meanwhile, took inspiration from The Viscount Who Loved Me, which followed Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) finding love with Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). Despite Benedict (Luke Thompson) being the subject of the third novel — An Offer From a Gentleman — his love story with newcomer Sophie (Yerin Ha) was pushed to season 4.

Instead, the third season focused on Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope’s (Nicola Coughlin) story as told in Quinn’s book Romancing Mister Bridgerton. The surprises kept coming after showrunner Jess Brownell confirmed that there is an estimated two-year wait before season 4 airs.

“We are working to try and put the seasons out more quickly, but they do take eight months to film and then they have to be edited and then they have to be dubbed into every language,” Brownell told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2024. “The writing takes a very long time as well, so we’re kind of on a two-year pace. We’re trying to speed up, but somewhere in that range.”

Looking ahead at future seasons, Francesca (Hannah Dodd) is a potential contender to lead season 5, since her marriage to John (Victor Alli) took place, which set up her romance with her now-husband’s cousin. (Bridgerton threw some fans for a loop though when they made John’s cousin Michaela instead of Michael.)

Eloise, however, is also a possible lead even though she has not had any interactions with her love interest — Phillip Crane (Chris Fulton) — yet. According to Quinn, Netflix does plan to release eight seasons to correspond with all the books. (Netflix has renewed Bridgerton for seasons 5 and 6.)

“I know who is scheduled next,” Quinn exclusively told Us Weekly in May. “It could always change, like, [the order] has changed in the past.”

She continued: “My hope is that all the siblings will eventually take the lead because we love them [all]. That was kind of the whole point of the books is that you’ve got these eight separate stories, but they’re all connected.”

Bridgerton is currently streaming on Netflix and season 4 premieres in 2026.